President

Jenn DeSouza, MSW, LICSW, CGP

Jennifer DeSouza, MSW, LICSW, CGP received her Masters in Social Work from Boston College in 1999. Jennifer received her CGP in 2013 after completing the NSGP training program and she is currently participating in the Modern Psychoanalytic weekend training program at the Center for Group Studies in New York City. As an experienced social worker Jennifer has practiced in community mental health settings providing evaluation and treatment to individuals, families and groups. Jennifer currently manages the Group Therapy Program at Massachusetts General Hospital where she also provides individual therapy and consultations referral and resource information to patients and families. 

Past President

Ann Koplow, LICSW, CGP

Group psychotherapy is Ann’s passion and NSGP has fueled, illuminated, informed, and expanded this passion since she first connected with the organization in the 1990s.  During the twelve years when she was a clinician and then the director for a group-based psychiatric day treatment program, her contact with NSGP guided her growth as a group practitioner. Today, as Ann develops and facilitates open-access groups at the Primary Care Practice at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, she continues to enhance her knowledge and skills at the yearly conference and through NSGP's other learning opportunities. Ann notes that she is "... proud to serve as President of an organization that has meant so much to me, personally and professionally.

Treasurer

Dr. William Sharp, PsyaD, LMHC

William Sharp, PsyaD, LMHC, CGP is a psychoanalyst who received his doctorate from the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis in 2010.  He trained in Modern Psychoanalysis at BGSP and in the weekend training program at the Center for Group Studies in New York City. William is an associate teaching professor in the department of psychology at Northeastern University and the director of the Master's in Mental Health Counseling at BGSP.  He maintains a private practice in Brookline Village working with children, families and couples as well as individuals and groups.

Member-at-large, Liaison to the Executive Committee

Yoko Hisano, MSW, LICSW

Yoko Hisano is a dedicated social worker with intercultural experience and training in bridging the gap between cultures, people, and the larger systems. She received her MSW from Smith College in Northampton, MA.  Prior to being a social worker, she worked as an international educator in higher education. She uses her skills working with elders at their end-of-life at a hospital in Boston and provides support to patients, family members, and colleagues. She is currently serving on the Membership Committee and enjoys getting to know new members. As a Board member, she is committed to creating more space for diversity among members that includes areas such as race, age, ability, immigration status, family structure, and socio-economic differences.

Mary Alicia Barnes, OTD

Mary Alicia Barnes, OT, OTD is a faculty member at Tufts University in the Department of Occupational Therapy where she teaches group theory in the entry level doctoral program and has been co-leading process training groups for many years. Her clinical practice (groups and individual work) was with children and adolescents with severe emotional and behavioral disorders in public and private hospitals. Mary has published and presented on topics related to group theory and practice nationally and internationally. Her research scholarship is related to therapeutic group leader training outcomes. Mary is a longtime member of NSGP and serves as the Conference Committee’s workshop committee co-chair and is currently co-leading the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force with Sasha Watkins, LMHC, CPRP.

Jeff Brand, Psy.D, CGP

Jeff Brand, Psy.D. CGP, is a staff psychologist at The Brookline Center for Community Mental Health and has a private practice in Brookline, MA. At the Brookline Center, he directs the adult group therapy program, including supervision, teaching, and program development, as well as providing clinical care for adults and adolescents in both individual and group therapy. In his private practice, he works with adults in both individual and group therapy, and with adolescents in individual therapy. Prior to joining the staff at The Brookline Center, he trained through Harvard Medical School by completing his internship at the Cambridge Health Alliance, and he previously worked as a drug & alcohol counselor. He has written about trauma and published articles about using concepts from group psychotherapy to understand sociopolitical phenomenon. He is also on the Training Committee of the Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy. He enjoys being outside.

Rivkah Lapidus, PhD, LMHC, CGP

Rivkah Lapidus Ph.D. LMHC CGP has been a member of NSGP since the mid-1980s, ushered in by the charisma of the early Alonso-Rutan Observation Group at MGH.She has known our senior forebears, and is delighted to welcome a new generation.  She has had the pleasure of serving on a variety of task forces and committees over the years, such as the Conference Committee (twice) and the long defunct Forum Committee. The most rewarding was the Task Force on Increasing Diversity at NSGP in the 1990s. While she is on the Board she hopes to facilitate continued growth in this area.  Rivkah completed a doctoral degree at what is now the Fielding Graduate University. She has clinical and scholarly interest in the Harm Reduction Psychotherapy as a humane approach to substance use, and is a community activist in Somerville. She is also a painter and mixed-media artist.

Lesley McGee, MA, RYT-200

Lesley is a mental health counselor with a background in working at a partial hospital program, and who currently works in a college mental health setting. There she runs a general support group, a group for survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence, and a group for women around body image. She holds a broad range of clinical interests, which include but are not limited to trauma, anxiety, suicidality, group therapy, and identity exploration. Lesley’s approach to counseling is strengths-based and person-centered. Her primary mode of treatment is Acceptance Commitment Therapy. Additionally, she incorporates self-compassion, meditation, and art/music in her approach with clients. In July 2019 she completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training.

Ann keren Neeman-Kantor, Psy.D., LICSW   

Dr. Neeman Kantor is a clinician with over 20 years of providing  individual and group psychotherapy, training and supervision.  In Israel she  served as a mental health officer in the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), was head of the north county clinic for victims of  sexual assault and violence, was an active member of the Israel Professional Team for Emergency/disaster intervene, and worked with veterans and their spouses coping with PTSD in a variety of settings/organizations. Throughout her professional career, Ann keren dedicate her time to spreading her passion for group psychotherapy. Since moving to the U.S. with her family, she has completed her doctoral  with an emphasis on group psychotherapy and has written taught and presented nationally and internationally. Ann keren is currently a faculty member of NSGP's Training Program, a Co-Chair of NSGP’s Breakfast Club and serves on the Conference Committee of both NSGP and of the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA).

Penelope Moore, LICSW, CGP